BLUES BLOGGERS SURPRISED AT THEIR OWN WIN

The Blues may have shown up better in the first period than the Kings, but so far Kings bloggers have shown up in more force than Blues bloggers… slim pickings of up to date blogs. Here’s what I found on last night’s game from the winning side of things. Maybe more will come out later today or tomorrow. Maybe by then I won’t care.

So this is the way it has to be from now until the forseeable future become the seeable future become the future becomes the present. The Blues have to work as hard as possible on every single shift, give way too many minutes to too many guys who shouldn’t get them, get lucky with a few bounces, not get down when they get bad bounces against and eat, hope, pray, love, whateverthefuck that they get timely goals from guys who are supposed to get timely goals.

The Blues have lost 108 man-games thus far in a schedule just 30 dates deep. The attrition has become so severe, when the team announced during the game that Johnson might miss only two or three games, you could almost hear a hallelujah chorus erupt. That said, hockey’s best argument for health-care reform managed two third-period goals to beat the visiting Los Angeles Kings 6-4 in front of 19,150.

“I think, ever since that Vancouver game, we’ve had pretty good spirit on the team,” said Alex Steen, whose ninth goal with 2 minutes, 53 seconds remaining cracked a 4-4 tie. “I think if you’re around us, on the off days too, we’re not walking around feeling sorry for ourselves for the situation we’re in. Everyone just pulls together, and I think we’re playing pretty strong.”

***

From a firepower standpoint, the injury-impaired locals were once again up against it. The Blues had a total of 49 NHL goals spread across the roster they dressed. The Kings counted 68 goals among their 18 skaters, or some 40 percent more. The Kings had a blow torch, the Blues had a pack of matches. The Kings also had Jonathan Quick and his 1.83 goals-against average guarding their net.

Nonetheless, with the score tied 4-4 after two periods, the evening was reduced to a 20-minute showdown. “That’s exactly what it was,” said Steen, whose goal was supported by an empty-net, deal-sealing marker by David Backes. “We had given up a two-goal lead; we were a little angry about that. We knew how important this game was for us against (a conference foe). We just emphasized the details we wanted to do. We didn’t talk much. We just said, ‘Let’s go out there and win this game.’ ”